As a standard practice, I make a habit of examining my email spam folder to study what tactics are sending electronic missives directly to the junk folder. Not long ago, I was amused but not particularly surprised to see emails from Donald Trump and newly-minted campaign manager, Kellyanne Conway.
I was not surprised my spam filter caught these emails because I've previously … [Read more...]

Two recent developments point to what appears to be a shockingly unsophisticated online marketing effort by the campaign of the Republican candidate for president, Donald Trump: The roll-out of his Hillary Clinton attack site and his spamming of foreign legislators.
Trump's Hillary Clinton Attack Site
The first was the launch of the anti-Hillary Clinton website, … [Read more...]

You see it all the time, unfortunately: Subject lines that are designed to trick, rather than entice you, to open the email.
Yes, the sole purpose of a subject line should be to compel the recipient to open the email. Scroll through your inbox and your junk mail folder and you will find the countless tactics people use to do just that, ranging from the very clever to the … [Read more...]

Facebook wall spam has been getting out of control recently so I was delighted to discover that the social network has added a spam filter to their Facebook Pages. Spam Filter For Facebook Pages found at YouTube from estrategy. … [Read more...]

Since launching my Minnesota Vikings Chat blog I've been finding a lot of YouTube video spam because I've been searching for Vikings highlights after each game. This is what I'm seeing. YouTube Spam found at YouTube from estrategy. … [Read more...]

I get a lot of comment spam on this blog.
It is profoundly annoying but part of the price of doing business. In the course of deleting said spam, though, I come across some pretty ridiculous attempts to make it past my automated and human filters. This one on my Minneapolis Bridge Collapse & Citizen Journalism post tops the list in terms of carelessness and insensitivity: … [Read more...]